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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Tiermann on Today at 15:22:35 »The PCC had some great long term benefits. The parts ordering system at the European sites is the result of the initial meetings with the collectors setting up the club. Making part ordering easier was a top priority and it is still there, though less effective compared to a couple of years ago. Online availability of the instruction sheets was also a result. The issue at the time of the club was that Playmobil management didn't understand the resource they had in the collectors or how to take advantage of it. We as a community know more about the history and possibilities of their product than most of their management does.
The real issues the company has are the result of HOB doing a bab job of succession management. He didn't understand that making radical changes in the upper structure of management would destabilize the company and lead to erosion to the point of possible collapse. The company went for most of its life with a strict heirarchical structure with one leader having a final say, to a diffuse structure with a three person committee trying to lead things and a board dominated by someone with limited understanding of the things that made the company successful. Coupling all that with the changing face of the toy industry as a whole has been disastrous.
To end on a positive note, they are focusing on smaller sets this year and doing a good job of packing in play value. I have been very happy with the smaller sets this year.
The real issues the company has are the result of HOB doing a bab job of succession management. He didn't understand that making radical changes in the upper structure of management would destabilize the company and lead to erosion to the point of possible collapse. The company went for most of its life with a strict heirarchical structure with one leader having a final say, to a diffuse structure with a three person committee trying to lead things and a board dominated by someone with limited understanding of the things that made the company successful. Coupling all that with the changing face of the toy industry as a whole has been disastrous.
To end on a positive note, they are focusing on smaller sets this year and doing a good job of packing in play value. I have been very happy with the smaller sets this year.
